CENTRAL ISLIP – John Rocker’s shoulder feels fine. His psyche, however, is hurting.

The former Atlanta Braves closer has had no success on the mound for the Long Island Ducks in his first week with the team and is beginning to show signs of a meltdown.

The first crack came during Tuesday’s game in Atlantic City when Rocker got into a verbal confrontation with a fan. Rocker did not speak to reporters before yesterday’s Ducks home opener against the Atlantic City Surf but in a phone interview with The Post on Tuesday night Rocker clearly was agitated. He said he was tired of being heckled by fans and has thought about aborting his comeback.

“I have this idea, I guess it’s a fantasy that I want to play baseball and just enjoy playing,” said Rocker, who is coming back from shoulder surgery two years ago. “I look around and see other guys who are allowed to just enjoy playing. How come I can’t? Wouldn’t that be a novel concept?”

Rocker has been the target of fans’ venom since a 1999 article in Sports Illustrated when he made negative remarks about New Yorkers, aids patients and foreigners. During his first week with the Ducks fans in Bridgeport, Conn. and Atlantic City rode the relief pitcher. The treatment has made Rocker bitter.

“I’m like the mean, neighborhood dog,” Rocker said. “It wasn’t born like that but after getting hit with rocks and kicked for years it becomes mean. Once upon a time I was a nice, calm, loveable guy. But I’ve become mean from the constant ridiculing that has been thrown my way.”

Ducks owner Frank Boulton said yesterday he hadn’t spoken with Rocker about Tuesday’s incident, but had talked to several members of the team’s staff. He said he is not worried about this becoming a recurring problem. Last night, fans greeted Rocker warmly as he signed autographs for 20 minutes before the game.

“In any sport, at any level, just because you buy a ticket doesn’t give you a right to throw out profanities at people,” Boulton said. “But John just can’t let these people get to him.”

Much of Rocker’s frustration also is due to his performance. The 30-year-old has struggled to find his control and his velocity dipped on Tuesday. He is 0-2 with a 13.50 ERA and seven walks in three appearances. Ducks pitching coach Dave LaPointe said the team would rest Rocker for the next few days and work with him on the side and he likely wouldn’t see game action again until this weekend.

“He’s trying too hard to be perfect and mentally when you go out there like that it’s tough to pitch,” LaPointe said. “You cannot throw a perfect pitch every time you throw.”

The Surf hitters approached Rocker Tuesday knowing he was having trouble finding the plate.

“He’s definitely not what he used to be,” said the Surf’s David Housel. “Our approach going in was to be patient. We heard he had some control problems. We wanted him to prove to us he could throw strikes.”